PLA chooses its battles with the US
Loro Horta says PLA strategy is to deter the US while it plays catch-up
In 2010 the Chinese military was reported to have started tests on its most ambitious missile project, the DF-21A, an anti-ship ballistic missile.
China's decision to use ballistic missiles for anti-ship warfare is unusual considering that targeting moving ships with a missile on a ballistic trajectory is much harder and requires more sophisticated navigation than cruise missiles. The People's Liberation Army decision to opt for an anti-ship ballistic missile reflects the growing confidence and sophistication of its military industries.
Analysts are divided over the implications of the new system for the US military. Some claim it is a game changer and a threat to US forces in the region. Other analysts observed that the US military has several ways of defeating the anti-ship ballistic missile, such as using decoys and by targeting Chinese support and communication systems. While both sides of the debate have raised valid points, one should not see the Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile in isolation, but as part of larger process of military modernisation and a changing doctrine in the PLA.
Chinese military strategists have for millenniums been fascinated by asymmetric methods of warfare. China has no illusions about its military inferiority vis-à-vis the US and knows that the status is likely to endure for at least two decades.
As such, the PLA has been developing a full range of asymmetric strategies to deter the US until its military reaches maturity.
Aware of the US dependence on space and satellite communications to conduct even the most basic military operations, the PLA has for the past decade invested significant amounts to develop anti-satellite weapons. In January 2007, China fired its first anti-satellite missile, destroying one of its own ageing satellites.